ABSTRACT
The chapter begins with a social historical account and a comparative cultural overview of fatherhood, fathers and birth attendance prior to the twentieth century. It describes how industrialisation and the hospitalisation of birth contributed to both the absence and the subsequent attendance of fathers at births. Childbirth has been regarded by some as one of life's great mysterious experiences from which fathers since the beginning of time should be excluded. Globally, the presence or absence of fathers at the birth can be partly explained by reference to the birth culture of the particular social group. In critically examining the how and why of fathers' birth attendance, emphasis is placed on the possible consequences that may accrue from attendance. From the earliest times sexuality and gender constructs have influenced the exclusion of fathers from the birth. The chapter examines consequences of the new orthodoxy of fathers' attendance.
